Washington Governor approves same-sex marriage
More : Christie Gregoire, gay marriage US, Washington State, Washington United for Marriage
The fierce fight for marriage equality in the U.S. keeps going with the groundbreaking news of Washington becoming the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriage. The Evergreen State has now joined the list of “cool” states along with New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia.
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On February 13, Governor Christie Gregoire signed the bill into law, which will take effect on June 7. In her statement on House approval of the legislation, Gregoire said, “With today’s vote, we tell the nation that Washington state will no longer deny our citizens the opportunity to marry the person they love. We tell every child of same-sex couples that their family is every bit as equal and important as all other families in our state.”
The debates on the Senate and House grounds have been filled with great emotions, cheers, and rounds of applause from supporters watching in the public viewing galleries. Six Democrats voted against the measure, and six Republicans crossed their party lines to join the fight for equality.
Among them, Republican Representative Maureen Walsh from Walla Walla, whose daughter is a proud lesbian, delivered an inspiring and straightforward speech. She said, “My daughter came out of the closet a couple of years ago. And you know what, I thought I was just going to agonize about that. Nothin’s different. She’s still a fabulous human being, and she’s met a person that she loves very much, and some day, by God, I wanna throw a wedding for that kid.I hope that is exactly what I can do. I hope she will not feel like a second-class citizen involved in something called a ‘domestic partnership’ that frankly sounds like a Merry Maids franchise to me.”
Nonetheless, a threat of a ballot challenge looms over this victory, which echoes strangely what happened in California four years ago. Opponents of the legalization of same-sex marriage, essentially Catholic bishops and religious conservative organizations, are confident that they can collect the 120, 577 signatures of registered voters by June 6 to put a repeal referendum on the ballot of the November general election.
Nevertheless, Josh Friedes, the Marriage Equality Director for Equal Rights Washington in Seattle, told 2BMag that they have formed a campaign called Washington United for Marriage. Composed of hundreds of organizations, congregations, unions, and business associations, this coalition aims at bringing awareness to voters about how important marriage equality is for Washington families. Together, they work “to secure civil marriage for loving, committed gay and lesbian couples.”
www.washingtonunitedformarriage.org
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